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Jonah Prays (Part 3 of 3)

“And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it
vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jon 2:10).

This
may seem like a simple statement but it points us to a number of important
truths and implications. Let me highlight a few of them for us.

First, it reminds us that disobedience to God’s will
is foolish and futile. If you like, it gets us nowhere. Jonah fled from the
presence of the LORD in disobedience, and he did that by leaving dry land on a
boat and fleeing by way of the sea. But now, after several dramatic and
extraordinary days, Jonah found himself back on dry land once again. The God of
the dry land is also the God of the sea, and He did not let Jonah get away.
Jonah was sovereignly brought back to dry land by the fish. It was back to
square one for him. Most probably, the fish vomited Jonah out at Joppa – the
very place where he had gone to catch the ship going to Tarshish.

Disobedience
to God never gets us anywhere. We cannot make progress in our Christian lives
if we do not walk in God’s way. At best, we return to the point where we first
started out in disobedience, which is futile and frustrating. At worst, we
never return and perish in the sea. So the first important point of this verse is
to remind us of the foolishness and futility of fleeing from God’s presence by
disobeying His revealed will.

But
second, this verse points us to the fact that the LORD’s word is powerful. In
the beginning, God spoke and all things came into existence. The word of the
LORD is powerful indeed and it accomplishes everything that God has ordained.

In
Luke 1:37, the angel Gabriel told Mary, “For with God nothing shall be
impossible.” Actually, a better way to translate that verse is, “For
no word of God shall be without power” or “Every word of God shall not be
powerless.”

In other words, the angel is not simply saying that
nothing is impossible with God, which is certainly true. But he is being more
specific there. He is saying that no word or saying or utterance of God or no
word that proceeds from the mouth of God shall be without power.

God’s word
is very powerful indeed. And here in Jonah 2:10, we see another instance of it.
The LORD speaks to the fish and the fish returns Jonah to dry land. The fish
obeys the voice of its Creator. It has no power whatsoever to resist His
command. It could not hold Jonah for one moment longer than necessary. So the
second thing that this verse reminds us of is the great power and efficacy of
the word of the LORD.

The third
thing it reminds us of is that the word of the LORD brings deliverance. Not
only is it powerful but it brings deliverance. Jonah’s deliverance from the sea
was accomplished in two steps. The first step was when he was swallowed by the
fish. The second step was when he was vomited out by the fish onto dry land.

It
would have done Jonah no good if the fish decided to expel him while it was
still a long way from shore. Jonah would still have drowned. Likewise, it would
have done Jonah no good if the fish decided to keep him in its belly for good.
The fish’s belly was only a temporary holding place. Jonah belonged to the land
and that was where he had to be returned. And so the Lord spoke to the fish and
instructed it to deposit Jonah at the right time and right place.

It
is wonderful, isn’t it, when the LORD speaks for us? And O how we need Him to
do so! Whatever situation we are in, whatever need we have, whatever our
dilemma we are faced with, whatever temptation or sin we are struggling with –
God must speak for us.

And
when He does, then everything will turn for our good. When the LORD spoke to
the fish, Jonah was instantly transported to dry land. One moment, he was
sitting in the dark and uncomfortable belly of the fish, and the next, he was
basking on the pleasant beaches of the Mediterranean. The word of the LORD
brings marvellous deliverance and redemption to His people.

And so Jonah was delivered from the sea by the
fish, and then he was delivered by the fish onto dry land, where he belonged.
The prophet of the LORD had returned. He had experienced a great deal in those
few days. He was a changed man. Not fully sanctified but certainly more
sanctified than when he first tried to run away. Chastisement has a sanctifying
effect on God’s people. Jonah had returned. He was ready to do the will of the
LORD. In the next chapter, we will see the LORD renewing His call and
commission to Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach the gospel there, and Jonah
responding in obedience.

Conclusion

As we draw
our study of Jonah chapter 2 to a close, I’ll like to focus our attention once
again on the One who is greater than Jonah.

In Matthew
12:40-41, we read, “For as Jonas was three days
and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days
and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in
judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at
the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”

We
have seen Christ in a number of different ways in this passage. Let me just
briefly go over them again.

First
we see Him as the true temple – the one whom we are to look to especially in
our moments of distress. Jonah looked toward the holy temple even as he was
sinking into the depths of the sea. His only hope for help and mercy was found
in the temple, the place where God and man are reconciled on the basis of the
sacrifices that are offered there, and where our prayers can reach to God.

The
temple represents the dwelling of God with man. Without it, there can be no
meeting point between the Holy God and unholy sinners like Jonah and the rest
of us. But thank God for the temple. Thank God for Jesus Christ, our true
tabernacle. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, we will have the assurance that
we are safe and that all will be well, even if we are at the bottom of the
ocean. So Christ is seen first in the holy temple which Jonah looked towards in
his prayer.

But
second, we see Christ in the words of Jonah at the end of his prayer –
salvation is of the Lord. He whose very name means Jehovah saves, is the only
Saviour of mankind. Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.”

He
is salvation both for the Jews, like Jonah, and for the Gentiles, like the
pagan sailors and the people of Nineveh. There is no racial or national or
social distinction when it comes to salvation in Christ. He is the saviour of
all races and classes of people.

And
His salvation is so complete and so perfect that nothing needs to be added to
it by way of our own works or merits. Sinners do not bring anything to Christ
for salvation except their sins. And what Christ does is to take their sins,
which they bring to Him (every one of them), and wash them away in His precious
blood. And then He takes His righteousness and lays it upon them. Yes,
salvation is of the LORD. Salvation is found in the blessed person and work of
Jesus Christ.

But
finally, we see Christ in Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of
the fish. Just as Jonah was in the fish for that duration of time, so too was
our Lord buried in the earth for three days and three nights. But even more
than just that period of time in the fish’s belly, Jonah’s emergence from the
fish and his return to dry land is truly a marvellous type of our Lord’s own
resurrection from the dead.

Just
as the Lord spoke to the fish and caused it to surface and return Jonah to
land, so too Almighty God raised up the Lord Jesus from the grave and brought
Him back to life. The fish could not hold Jonah for even a second more than was
necessary. It had to expel Jonah from its belly. Likewise, the Lord Jesus rose
from the grave at the appointed time. The grave could not retain Him for even
one moment beyond that time. Satan did all he could to retain our Lord in the
tomb but to no avail. The Lord emerged victorious over all His enemies,
including death itself; and He returned to His disciples to instruct and
comfort them. And because our Lord has risen from the dead, all of us who are
His have the blessed hope that someday, we too would be raised from the dead
unto an eternity of perfect joy and bliss.

May
we be encouraged to praise and thank God from the depths of our hearts for His
wonderful salvation in Jesus Christ. May we look to Him in prayer in our
moments of backsliding or distress and may we find great comfort in how our
merciful God dealt with His prodigal prophet. And finally, may our hope in the
Lord be further strengthened as we consider how He is using His same resurrection
power right now on our behalf and for our everlasting good.